Prospector 5 drilling rig sinks off Gabon; three bodies recovered, two missing

Summary

The Prospector 5 jack-up drilling rig, owned by Borr Drilling and contracted to BW Energy, sank off the coast of Gabon on October 24, 2026, during jacking operations in preparation for drilling activities in the Dussafu Marine licence area. Of 115 personnel aboard, 110 were rescued. Three bodies have been located in the wreck, with two individuals remaining unaccounted for. The rig experienced a punch-through event during preload operations that caused it to lose stability. The rig carried approximately 280 cubic meters of marine diesel fuel. No discharge of harmful substances has been observed. Search and rescue operations are ongoing, and recovery efforts for the bodies are underway.

What imagery could confirm

Which satellite to use, what to look for and why. Part of the event detail on Pro.

What remains unresolved

• named facility unresolved

Timeline

27 recorded change(s). The ledger starts when this event was first folded: the initial observation is not recorded as a change, so an empty timeline means nothing has moved since, not that nothing is known.

• 2026-10-30member countour measurement21 → 22reports joined

3 more change(s) — the values are part of the event detail on paid plans. 23 change(s) before the history shown here.

Sources

Grouped by outlet. Syndication is not collapsed, so several outlets can carry one wire story — the count is breadth of carriage, not independent confirmation.

• news.az
  • Three bodies recovered after massive rig goes down off Gabon’s coast | News.az2026-10-29
• standardmedia.co.ke
  • Five missing after oil rig sinks off Gabon2026-10-25
• ksl.com
  • Borr Drilling rig sinks off Gabon, one person dead and four missing2026-10-25
• thepeninsulaqatar.com
  • One dead, four others missing in Gabon oil rig disaster2026-10-27
• riotimesonline.com
  • Gabon Oil Rig Sinks, 5 Workers Missing2026-10-25
• gcaptain.com
  • Borr Drilling Rig Sinks Off Gabon, One Person Dead And Four Missing2026-10-25
• worldoil.com
  • One dead, four missing after Borr Drilling's Prospector 5 rig sinks offshore Gabon2026-10-25
• maritime-executive.com
  • Borr Drilling Jackup Loses Stability and Sinks off Gabon2026-10-25
• insurancejournal.com
  • Borr Drilling Rig Sinks Off Gabon With One Person Dead and Four Missing2026-10-26
• africanenergychamber.africa-newsroom.com
  • African Energy Chamber Stands in Solidarity with Gabon Following Sinking of Prospector 5 Offshore Rig2026-10-26
• themarketsdaily.com
  • Borr Drilling (NYSE:BORR) Shares Gap Down – Should You Sell?2026-10-26
• pressnote.in
  • African Energy Chamber Stands in Solidarity with Gabon Following Sinking of Prospector 5 Offshore Rig2026-10-26
• aol.co.uk
  • Moment huge oil drilling rig topples into the sea with 115 workers on board - four missing - AOL2026-10-27
• thehindu.com
  • One dead, four others missing in Gabon oil rig disaster2026-10-27
• rigzone.com
  • Bodies Discovered After Rig Sinks Offshore Gabon2026-10-30
• royalgazette.com
  • Watch: Five missing after island-based firm’s oil rig sinks2026-10-28
• independent.co.uk
  • Moment huge oil rig sinks into the ocean as search for survivors continues2026-10-29
• prnewswire.com
  • Borr Drilling Limited - Prospector 5 Rig Incident Update - October 29, 20262026-10-29
• marinelink.com
  • Three Bodies Found in Sunken Borr Drilling Rig Off Gabon, Two Still Missing2026-10-29

Related events

0 related event(s) and 1 place(s) or facilities — the same facility, place, actor or campaign. Part of the event detail on Pro.

Reproduce over the API (free endpoint)

curl "https://offnadir-delta.com/api/v1/events/222bef71-1ac1-407d-aa8f-0da89091dce9/thread" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer ond_YOUR_API_KEY"